When he says ‘nothing can work without energy’ he knows what he is saying. Dr Hermann Scheer, member of the German Parliament, Bundestag, and President of Eurosolar — the European Association for Renewable Energy, is a world renowned policy innovator and an expert in the field of renewable energy. He is the General Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy.
Dr Scheer was in the city recently for a solar energy meet. He insists that the time for India to go for renewables (solar in particular) in a big way is now.
“More technology is coming from the firms than scientific labs. It is foolish to wait for market development for introduction of a new technology. Go for mass production and the costs will come down and demand will go up.”
“Without energy, societies will fall into a existential trap. We need technology to avoid this and renewable energy can do it,” he said, observing that renewable energy was what the world was run with till the 18th century till the steam engine revolutionised the concept of energy.
“Even today 80 per cent of our energy is based on the steam engine.” However, with consumption in the last 40 years being twice that of all energy ever used, he warns that it is time to get over the idea that fossil fuels will last forever.
“Even if forecasts gave another 700 years, they didn’t take into account the rapidly multiplying population.”
Dr Scheer is critical of proponents of nuclear energy with its “heavy” limits. “The biggest mistake governments have made is to ignore the other side of nuclear energy while ignoring renewable energy as too simple a solution! For instance, in 15 minutes the sun and wind gives the equivalent of all energy you can get from fossils, nuclear energy, etc.”
He warns that renewables vs fossils is not just a climate problem. “There are so many costs from your conventional fuel. You have the water crisis rising from the water used in your power plants and the growing cities. Globally you don’t lose water but regionally you can!”
The availability crisis is serious, he adds. Not just coal, even Uranium reserves are fast decreasing and cannot meet the rising demand. “Once we cross the meeting point of the downward reserves curve and upwards demand curve, we will be in a situation where world peace is at risk. Only those with energy reserves can survive. And those with military powers will try to control those weaker. More nations will be unable to pay the import bill for energy. Economic and social conflicts will be the rule of the day.”
Humans have a right to energy, but this can’t be met with conventional sources, says Scheer. By shifting to renewable energy which is evenly distributed, the economic imbalance can be corrected.
“We need to translate macro economic benefits to micro economic incentives. Each step to renewable energy is a benefit to society. It makes ‘economic-logic’ to avoid all the costs that conventional energy carries but is never mentioned. No fuel costs, no extraction costs, no transportation costs, etc.”
Renewable energy will make it possible to relink places of energy sources and consumption and allow for real energy independence, he adds. “This will mean non-commercial energy, for who can privatise sun or wind?”
Scheer is critical of suggestions that the process will be slow. “It is wrong to say we need more time. Nothing can be introduced faster than renewable energy,” he avers. Technology is more than available, it is policy that is lagging, he believes.
He is as critical of general unwillingness of nations to take individual steps. “To say it is an economic burden and that we should all do it together or not at all is foolish. No technological revolution was caused due to international treaty! Did India wait for others before taking on the IT challenge?”
To the question of subsidies and how that makes the government a reluctant player, Scheer asks, “You call it a subsidy when money is lost! Here you save money and keep adding to that savings.” Policies and energy experts are the barriers, he says, saying that its is the conventional power that has been privileged.
In Germany which has been going renewable in a big way, a price regulatory system is in place which has helped the sector more than the quota system in neighbouring UK, he says.
“They have better wind conditions than us but we are producing 20 times as much renewable energy as they do because of our pricing system (with no interest) that is open to new investors.”
India has a mix of fixed tariff and quota system which, he said, seems to be doing well.
While reminiscing on how the battle between conflicting ministries was won in Germany, he notes that the media played a big role. Today, Germany is top in the world in solar energy production.
Scheer believes that solar architecture in the context of buildings has much scope in India. “There is much that can be done. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”